Explaining Without Jargon
Keep the meaning precise while making the words familiar to the person watching.
To avoid jargon in writing, start with the words your intended reader already uses. Replace vague business language with a concrete action, and explain technical terms when the reader needs them. A whiteboard explainer video should make the subject easier to understand. Read the script aloud, then ask a newcomer to explain its meaning back to you.
Find the words that assume inside knowledge
A familiar word can still be jargon when the audience gives it a different meaning. A technical colleague may understand a term such as deployment immediately, while a customer may simply want to know when the new version becomes available. Our recommendation is to begin with the viewer's task and the words that person uses to describe it.
Mark abbreviations, internal project names, abstract nouns and phrases that sound impressive but hide the action. For each one, ask: what actually happens, who does it, and why does the viewer need to know? Write that answer in ordinary language before choosing the final wording. Keep a specialist term when the viewer needs it to recognise a real control, follow an instruction or make a precise distinction.
A practical jargon swap list
These are our editorial suggestions, not automatic replacements. Choose the version that preserves the intended meaning in the particular sentence. A necessary technical term deserves a short explanation; a vague phrase deserves a concrete description.
| Draft wording | A clearer starting point | Check before swapping |
|---|---|---|
| Utilise the application | Use the app | Use the product's actual name when the viewer needs to find it. |
| Facilitate collaboration | Help people work together | Name the action: share a file, add a comment or agree a decision. |
| Leverage existing assets | Use the files you already have | Say which files matter to this task. |
| Optimise the workflow | Remove a repeated step | Describe the actual improvement rather than promising a general benefit. |
| Action the request | Review the request and reply | Name the exact action; a request may need something other than a reply. |
| Deliver greater visibility | Show the current status | Say who can see which information. |
| A single source of truth | One agreed place for the current files | Explain how people recognise the current version. |
| Seamless integration | The two tools exchange [specific information] | Confirm the real connection and the information it carries. |
| Deploy the update | Make the new version available | Keep deployment if the audience needs that technical distinction. |
| API | A way for software systems to exchange requests and information | Keep the abbreviation when it is useful, and define it at the first relevant use. |
Rewrite a technical paragraph without losing its instructions
This invented example describes a project team's file process. The rewrite keeps the three instructions: put files together, identify them clearly and archive older versions. It removes language that makes those actions harder to see.
BEFORE To facilitate collaborative asset management, team members should centralise project documentation in the designated repository. Implement a consistent nomenclature incorporating the project identifier and revision date. Superseded iterations should be migrated to the archive directory to maintain visibility of the current deliverables. AFTER Keep the project documents in the team's shared folder. Name each file with the project name and the date of that version. Move older versions into the archive folder so everyone can find the current files. WHAT CHANGED Collaborative asset management became the actual task: keeping project documents together. Nomenclature became a naming instruction. Superseded iterations became older versions. The shared folder and archive folder remain distinct because the viewer needs both to follow the process.
Use a four-step editing pass
First, write the audience and its immediate question above the script. Second, highlight words a newcomer might interpret differently. Third, replace each marked phrase with an action or explain the useful technical term at its first use. Fourth, read the result aloud and check it with someone who knows the audience.
Ask that reviewer to describe the process in their own words. If their explanation changes an important detail, identify the sentence that caused the misunderstanding and revise it. Ask the process owner to check the meaning after the language review. Clear wording and accurate wording need to agree.
- Keep the labels people will see on a real screen, form or document.
- Define an abbreviation once when it helps the viewer complete the task.
- Replace a vague benefit with the specific change the viewer can observe.
- Check that simpler wording still preserves any essential condition or sequence.
Three editing mistakes and their fixes
Replacing every long word can make a script less precise. Keep the term the viewer needs, then explain it with a short example. Replacing jargon with a different slogan leaves the meaning vague; name the person, action and result instead. Explaining every specialist detail can overload the narration; include the definition needed for the immediate question and place deeper reference material beside the film.
Our recommendation is to use the same term consistently once it has been introduced. Switching between several friendly alternatives for the same object can make a simple process sound like several different things.
Turn the clearer wording into a video brief
AutoScribble turns a typed idea or pasted script into a narrated animated explainer. Paste the clearer paragraph with a description of the audience, the question and the desired next step. Review the proposed script before rendering, checking names, instructions and the meaning of any specialist term.
Choose the orientation, narration voice and film length for the intended destination. Confirm the displayed settings and credit quote before generating. Watch the finished film for clarity before downloading the MP4 or sharing a private link. If a rendered film needs another version, review the edit-and-remake confirmation and its displayed credit cost.
Create a whiteboard explainer for [audience]. Explain [one question] using these accurate instructions: [paste plain-language script]. Keep these exact labels: [labels]. Explain this necessary term briefly: [term and meaning]. End with [one action].
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Common questions
- How do I avoid jargon in writing?
- Use words the intended audience already understands, and replace vague phrases with specific actions. Keep technical terms when they help the reader act accurately, and explain each useful term when it first appears.
- How can I spot jargon in my own script?
- Highlight abbreviations, internal names and phrases that hide who does what. Ask a person from the intended audience to explain the script back to you, then revise wording that caused uncertainty or changed the meaning.
- Should I remove every technical term?
- Keep a technical term when the viewer needs it to recognise a real label or understand an important distinction. Introduce it with a short explanation and use the same term consistently afterward.
- What is a useful alternative to business jargon?
- Describe the person, action and concrete result. For example, replace a vague phrase such as greater visibility with the specific information someone can see, such as the current status of a request.
- How do I simplify a technical paragraph accurately?
- List its essential instructions and conditions before rewriting it in familiar language. Compare the rewrite with that list, then have the process owner confirm that the simpler wording preserves the intended meaning.